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CONTACT DETAILS Mrs Baljeet Basra Professional Standards CONTACT DETAILS Mrs Baljeet Basra Professional Standards Manager ILEX Professional Standards Ltd Kempston Manor Kempston Bedford MK42 7AB Tel: 01234 845776 07792 774937 Email: [email protected] ILEX Professional Standards Ltd company registration number: 6712409 CILEx company registration: RC000850 Page 1 Page 2 CONTENTS PART 1 – Introduction ………………………………………………………………………….……… 5 PART 2 – CILEx, IPS and CILEx members ……………………………………………………… 13 PART 3 - Regulatory objectives & better regulation principles…………………………… 31 PART 4 - Qualification scheme……………………………………………………………………… 51 PART 5 - Entity regulation……………………………………………………………………………… 75 PART 6 - Outcomes focused regulation………………………………………………………… 147 PART 7 - Compliance with s.112 & s.145 Legal Services Act 2007…………………… 175 PART 8 - Enforcement arrangements…………………………………………………………… 183 PART 9 - Indemnification arrangements………………………………………………………… 193 PART 10 – Compensation arrangements……………………………………………………… 205 PART 11 – Delivery of the scheme ……………………………………………………………… 211 Page 3 Page 4 PART 1 - INTRODUCTION PART 1 INTRODUCTION Page 5 PART 1 - INTRODUCTION PART 1 – INTRODUCTION THE APPLICATION 1. The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) is an approved regulator under the Legal Services Act 2007 (the Act). In accordance with the Act CILEx has separated its regulatory functions from its representative functions by delegating its regulatory functions to ILEX Professional Standards Ltd (IPS). 2. CILEx awards rights of audience to Chartered Legal Executives and Associate Prosecutor members; and rights to conduct litigation to Associate Prosecutor members. 3. This application is made, in accordance with rules issued by the Legal Services Board under Part 3 of Schedule 4 of the Act, by IPS to the Legal Services Board (LSB) for approval to amend its regulatory arrangements for CILEx to grant rights to conduct litigation to Chartered Legal Executives; and rights of audience to Chartered Legal Executives who obtain rights to conduct litigation. 4. This section outlines the amendments that IPS proposes to make to its regulatory arrangements and gives an overview of the context in which practice rights will be delivered. NATURE AND EFFECT OF EXISTING ARRANGEMENTS 5. CILEx became an Approved Regulator for rights to conduct litigation in May 2011. It awards rights to conduct litigation to Associate Prosecutor members in criminal proceedings. 6. CILEx is an approved regulator for the purpose of awarding rights of audience. These rights may be exercised by Chartered Legal Executives who are employed or partners in legal practices. CILEx awards rights of audience in civil, criminal and family proceedings. The rights are available in the lower courts and are awarded to Chartered Legal Executives upon the successful completion of an enrolment process, qualification course and assessment of advocacy skills. NATURE AND EFFECT OF PROPOSED ALTERATION 7. IPS makes this application to alter rights to conduct litigation. It seeks to extend: • the range of members to which CILEx can award rights to conduct litigation to include Chartered Legal Executives. • the award of rights to conduct litigation from criminal proceedings to include civil and family proceedings. Page 6 PART 1 - INTRODUCTION 8. A person holding rights to conduct litigation awarded by CILEx will become a Chartered Legal Executive Litigator (referred to as a Litigator in this application). 9. IPS makes this application to alter the award of rights of audience. It seeks to extend: • the business models in which Legal Executive Advocates can exercise rights of audience where they have also qualified as Litigators, to include independent practice. Independent practice is practice through an entity where the applicant is also the person authorised to provide litigation services and where the applicant is a Compliance Manager in the practice. 10. The litigation rights scheme has been set out in new rules as opposed to an amendment to the Associate Prosecutor scheme rules. The rules appear at appendix 1. 11. Amendments have been made to the Rights of Audience Certification Rules. These appear at appendix 2. RIGHTS SOUGHT 12. The rights that IPS will award are defined below. Rights to conduct litigation 13. The rights to conduct litigation which IPS will award to Chartered Legal Executives are split into three areas. Chartered Legal Executives will seek rights in one or more litigation practice area. They are set out below. Civil Proceedings: • To conduct litigation in civil proceedings. Criminal Proceedings: • To conduct litigation in criminal proceedings Family Proceedings: • To conduct litigation in all family proceedings. Rights of audience 14. CILEx is an Approved Regulator for the purpose of awarding rights of audience. These rights are available to Chartered Legal Executives who are employed in or are partners in legal practices. This application seeks to extend the business models through which rights of audience can be exercised to include Page 7 PART 1 - INTRODUCTION independent practices. This application does not seek to extend the rights that may be exercised. 15. In civil and family proceedings IPS will split the rights of audience between: (i) Judge’s room hearings (commonly referred to as chambers hearings); and (ii) open court rights. 16. CILEx members are already able to undertake advocacy in Judge’s room hearings in the High Court and County Courts as employees of legal practices. The award of rights of audience with a civil or family litigation certificate enables Litigators to exercise the same rights they already have, after they have been assessed by IPS as competent to do so. 17. Litigators may choose to obtain open court rights. The open court rights sought are those that can be exercised by Chartered Legal Executive Advocates under the existing CILEx rights of audience qualification. 18. In criminal proceedings the application extends the rights of audience that IPS already awards in criminal proceedings to Litigators in independent practice. 19. The rights of audience available to Litigators have been set out in the Rights to Conduct Litigation and Rights of Audience Certification Rules. They are: Civil Proceedings (Judge’s room): • To exercise rights of audience in civil proceedings in the Judge’s room in the High Court and County Courts in civil proceedings. Civil Proceedings (open court): • To appear in open court in the County Courts in all actions, except family proceedings; • To appear before Justices or a District Judge (Magistrates’ Court) in the Magistrates’ Courts in relation to all matters originating by complaint or application, including applications under the licensing, betting and gaming legislation; • To appear before any tribunal under the supervision of the Council on Tribunals where the tribunal rules provide for a non-discretionary right of audience being available to barristers and solicitors; • To appear before Coroners’ Courts in respect of all matters determined by those courts and to exercise rights of audience similar to those exercised by solicitors and barristers. Criminal Proceedings: • To appear before Justices Clerks, Justices or a District Judge (Magistrates’ Court) in all adult Magistrates’ Courts in relation to all matters within that court’s criminal jurisdiction; Page 8 PART 1 - INTRODUCTION • To appear before Justices Clerks, Justices or a District Judge (Magistrates’ Court) in all Youth Courts in relation to all matters within that court’s criminal jurisdiction; • To appear in the Crown Court or High Court before a Judge in chambers to conduct bail applications; • To appear in the Crown Court on appeal from the Magistrates’ Court, the Youth Court or on committal of an adult for sentence or to be dealt with, if he, or any approved person in the same practice as him, appeared on behalf of the defendant in the Magistrates’ Court or Youth Court; • To appear before Coroners’ Courts in respect of all matters determined by those courts and to exercise rights of audience similar to those exercised by solicitors and barristers. Family Proceedings (Judge’s room): • To exercise rights of audience in family proceedings in the Judge’s room in the High Court and County Courts. Family Proceedings (open court): • To appear in court (including open court) in all County Court family proceedings; • To appear before justices or a District Judge (Magistrates’ Court) in the Family Proceedings Court; • To appear before Coroners’ Courts in respect of all matters determined by those courts, and to exercise rights of audience similar to those exercised by solicitors or barristers. APPLICATION 20. The Application establishes that: • a person authorised in accordance with the proposed regulations will have the competence, which has been defined as knowledge, skills and experience, to exercise the rights to conduct litigation and rights of audience that they seek; • IPS, as the regulatory body, has in place suitable regulatory arrangements which take a risk based approach to the authorisation and supervision of entities through which rights to conduct litigation and rights of audience are delivered; • IPS has suitable regulatory arrangements to govern the conduct of authorised persons and entities; and • the regulatory arrangements will protect and promote the interests of consumers, including vulnerable consumers, and the public and deliver choice for consumers. Page 9 PART 1 - INTRODUCTION 21. The application is divided into the following parts: • Part 1 – the rights sought and an explanation
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